The 6 Best Grills and Smokers of 2026: Smart, Portable, and Stinky

It’s also cleverly designed, packing in a suitcase style – as you may have already gathered. Heavy duty handles and latches are strong. Although the Nomad weighs 28 pounds, which is a bit heavy for one-handed carry, the shape and large handle make it easier to carry than smaller, cheaper models.

The Nomad uses a dual ventilation system to achieve good airflow, even when the lid is closed. The vents, combined with the raised fins on the bottom of the grill (which raise your coals, allowing air to flow underneath), allow for very precise control of high and low temperatures. If you live and die by land, this grill could be your new constant companion.

Photo: Weber

Great portable grill on a budget: WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson likes the simple Weber Jumbo Joe ($90), a smaller version of the classic Original Kettle. It’s an easy option for tailgates, in particular. If you want to use it at home, you can make your own home cooking platform. It’s low cost, light, and very simple. They are all virtues.

Other grills I recommend

Rectic XFire Pro

Photo: Kat Merck

Recteq X-Fire Pro 825, $1,400: Pellet smokers rarely reach above 450 degrees Fahrenheit, which doesn’t deliver the burn you get on a charcoal or gas grill. But Recteq’s 825-square-inch double-bowl X-Fire Pro wants to be your everything appliance, notes WIRED reviewer Kat Merk. In smoke mode, the left fire bowl ignites for classic low and slow smoking. Toggle the large knob to grill mode, and both pots will fire, with an adjustable damper on the right side. The damper, which can be controlled with another handle, allows you to open up access to the right fire bowl a little, or all the way to the gates of hell – 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes about 20 minutes for the fire bowl to reach this height, and if you don’t clean the fire bowl first, it will start a lot of sparks in the process. Who knows why you need to reach 1200 degrees? But as Merck notes, this is a company known for its cartoon bull logo and bull horn handles. “Recteq likes to be extreme, so they track,” she says. If you keep the sear temperature at 600 degrees Fahrenheit, you will have a powerful grilling and searing experience. But keep in mind that drawing high power from dual burners will require a 10 or 12 gauge extension cord, which is probably better than the cord you have at home. The X-Fire also didn’t produce the same smoke as WIRED’s Recteq Flagship 1600, according to Merck’s testing, which means you’ll end up using smoke tubes at a lower temperature if you want to get more smoke into your meat. Also note that the advertised pellet capacity of 20 pounds is split between the fire pots. This may mean refilling a 10-pound hopper several times during a long cooking process.

Photo: Brad Burke

Traeger Woodridge Pro for $1,000: For most people, the Traeger Woodridge Pro is the best WIRED grill and smoker out there. It still sits beautifully at the intersection of value and utility, and will likely make you popular in the neighborhood. It’s a straightforward beast of something that’s easy to clean, easy to dial in for the perfect rack of ribs, and big enough to cook two pork belly at the same time. My new favorite, the Recteq, has some smart features that make us like it, like the temperature history on its meat sensors, and the easier learning curve on the smart features. But this Woodridge will make you very popular in the neighborhood.

Photo: Trigger

Traeger Timberline Wi-Fi Wood Pellet Grill for $3,300: If you’re serious about grilling and smoking, Traeger’s Timberline is almost a step up from a smoker. It’s the perfect all-in-one outdoor kitchen. It uses the same cordless smoking smarts as the Woodridge but adds a few extras, like an induction burner (perfect for adding a last-minute sear with a cast iron skillet or steaming some veggies). The insulated smoker box has room for six pork shoulders, or the equivalent of a rack of ribs or chicken. Former WIRED editor Parker Hall has been able to feed hundreds of people who use it. (As a longtime food and barbecue critic, I can wholeheartedly vouch for Hall’s resulting brisket and ribs.) If that’s not enough, there’s also an even larger XL version. “All of the meat was heated evenly and was cooked perfectly when the smoker said it would be,” Hall says. If you want flawless smoking from the comfort of your couch and price is not a factor, Timberline delivers.

Courtesy of Masterbilt

Masterbuilt Gravity Series 800 $899: This spacious Masterbuilt offers a great combination, notes WIRED reviewer Chris Smith: the flavor of charcoal with the heat precision of gas or electric. The large, top-loading charcoal hopper uses gravity (hence the name) to feed heat to an internal casing, and a built-in fan allows for precise digital temperature control – on the device or via the app. It will reach 700°F in 15 minutes. The temperatures are remarkably consistent once settled, and if you want to add smoke flavor, simply throw the logs into the ash bin and let the falling charcoal embers do the rest. But diversity comes with caveats. You may miss out on the ability to sear directly over the flame, and you’ll need to change the internal structure before switching to a flattop grill.

Courtesy of Yoder

Yoder YS640S Pellet Smoker, $2,700: Most grills do one thing well while many others do one thing poorly or not at all. Yoder’s YS640S is a more versatile tool, thanks to a design that allows easy access to the auto-feed firebox. Like the half-priced Traegers, this Kansas-made grill uses an electric fan and auger to feed wood pellets for a slow smoke session. It’s all powered by a control panel that sends temporary alerts and allows you to adjust the temperature over Wi-Fi. As a smoker, he easily handled ribs and roasts, maintaining the temperature better than most. This is thanks to its 10-gauge bomb-resistant steel construction, which means this grill weighs as much as a refrigerator. But where the Yoder really stands out is the grill and potential pizza oven. By removing a steel plate placed over the fire pit, you can brown burgers directly over the flames or remove the grills and place them on the massive pizza oven attachment ($489), which uses a pellet-feeding system to maintain a constant temperature of more than 900 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grill to avoid

Courtesy of Ace

Kamado Joe Call Joe for $1,900: There’s a lot to like about this kamado-style grill. In fact, WIRED previously recommended it because of its electric ignition and Wi-Fi connectivity that allows you to measure internal and meat temperatures via two sensors. But over long-term use, WIRED Trade Director Martin Cizmar has had persistent issues with the electric grill tripping the two-year-old GFCI outlets in his yard. Once I tripped on the crusher. A Reddit thread reveals that this is a common problem. Like Redditors, Cizmar found temporary relief by plugging an extension cord into an outlet in his kitchen, but even that failed several times during testing. Unfortunately, this grill is a hassle until the problem is fixed.